The Women Behind the Scenes

While women were excluded from formal engineering positions, several played crucial if unrecognized roles:

Claire Eiffel, Gustave's eldest daughter, managed much of her father's correspondence and scheduling. Her organizational skills kept the project moving through bureaucratic obstacles. Her diaries provide intimate glimpses of her father's anxieties and triumphs during construction.

Marie-Louise Koechlin, Maurice's wife, hosted weekly salons where engineers, artists, and intellectuals debated the tower's design. These informal gatherings influenced many aesthetic decisions. She also translated technical documents between French, German, and English, facilitating international collaboration.

Marguerite Nouguier worked alongside her husband, creating detailed drawings that translated engineering specifications into instructions workers could follow. Though credited only as "Mme. Nouguier" in official documents, her precise draftsmanship was essential to the project's success.